T he other day, I let my young adult daughter borrow my car for the weekend because hers was giving her trouble. When I was texting her about this and letting her know when I’d be home from work to hand the car off to her, she said, “I’m so sorry for this hassle. Thank you for helping me, though.” And I told her, “It’s not a hassle, honey. I’m glad to help.” “Glad to help” is not something I came up with. It didn’t originate with me. It’s something I’ve heard from my parents again and again my whole life, and in particular in my adult life. My parents have helped me, my husband, and our children more times and in more ways than I could possibly count. They’ve picked up kids from school and transported them places. They’ve fixed things around our house. My dad has driven to my office and pried a license plate off my car when the screws were rusted and stripped, and I didn’t have the right tool for the job. My mom has sewn things for me when they progressed past the button or small-seam stage. My
parents have solved problems. They’ve made things better. They’ve come to the rescue. (And this is by far the short list.) And without fail, every time I’ve thanked them for these acts of love and service, they’ve said the same thing: “We’re glad to help, sweetie.” For years, I wondered at that. I wondered how they could possibly be glad when the things they’ve done have inconvenienced them or been a hassle or a frustration (see, “new kitchen sprayer kit” and “leaking laundry room sink”). But now I understand that they really were glad to do them. Because what they were really saying was that they were glad to be involved in our lives. Glad to still be needed and useful. Glad to make a difference. Glad to lift a burden. Glad to make life easier. Glad to smooth some rough edges. This is what was done for me, and now I have the privilege of repaying it forward, of sometimes doing it for my children. And I truly am so glad to do it.
what they were really saying was that they were glad to be involved in our lives. Glad to still be needed and useful. Glad to make a difference.
164 SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • VOL 26 ISSUE 3
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